ONE in four people say the high cost of living in the UK is the biggest financial concern they face, research claims.

Consumers are more worried about the cost of food, clothes and transport than they are about repaying debts, getting on to the housing ladder or the pensions crisis, with 26% citing it as their biggest concern, say Birmingham Midshires.

But people are also worried about the increasingly large bite that tax rises are taking out of their income, with 17% concerned that the loss of income through council tax and National Insurance hikes will cause them problems, rising to 24% among the over-60s.

Only 9% of the 2,000 people questioned said they were worried about repaying their debts.